Allegiance
by RenaissanceLou
Summary: "It's a Wonderful Life" apparently doesn't apply to everyone. Muffy/Nami Oneshot.


Title: Allegiance

Pairing: Muffy/Nami

Rating: K+, for Muffy's occasional cursing.

Disclaimer: Harvest Moon does not belong to me. Insert sarcastic remark here.

Warnings: A bitchy side of Muffy that we all know exists. She's OOC in a sense, but really, think about it.

I don't remember the whole story. But I'm pretty sure I know where it started. I think it started after we found out that Jack, the light of our lives (or mine anyway) was getting married.

I had obviously found out about Jack and Celia before _she_ did- clearly because I was much more in love with him then _she _was. _She _just had an attraction to him, an attraction that grew with every new gift that he gave her. Gifts that were given to her out of _kindness, _damn it. Because Jack was a very kind man.

Puh. He gives a few crops to a woman and she thinks that he's like, _in love _with her, or something. When it was clear that he was doing what farmers _do, _which was give his products to the people of the valley. When a man gives you flowers- fresh, gorgeous flowers- **that **is an act of love. Sure, it was only once, but for a moment's time, even if it was brief, I believe fully that he had wanted me. Wanted me as his lover, as his bride, as the mother of his little children. And then, I suppose he changed his mind and decided that a woman with past farming experience was best to help him in well, running a farm.

But whatever.

I easily came to terms with not being the one chosen. _She _however went into this annoying little "Ohhh I'm gonna leave." phase. When _she _found out about Jack and Celia, I thought the poor girl was going to go drown herself in the damned river or something. "I've been here to long." she says. "I need to move on." she says. And I'm thinking something along the lines of,

_Oh God, Nami, Shut up._

Griffin thought I was jealous. When he had said something like that is when I had reminded him of the obvious fact that I have nothing to be jealous of. I pointed out the messy hair, the lack of facial features, and of course, the clothes… Heavenly _God _the clothes… those rags that had masculinity radiating off of them.

Well, anyway, not to change the subject or anything, but Valley people do weird things. And by weird I mean the kind of traditional weird that I as a native city girl would never understand. They have these ceremonies, and these traditions, and this _crap _that makes no sense **whatsoever. **This place is easy-going, sleepy, and doesn't have that big of a population. And yet it confuses the hell out of me.

But I stay here. I'm not miserable, I have many friends. And I really like this place, despite it confusing me to no end. Not to mention I'm insanely attractive, and the looks I get from men both single and married please me greatly. What? It's true!

So I mean, if I don't want to leave, why would _she_? I mean I though**t **she was _kind of _pretty, but she was no knockout. She had… friends. I suppose. She had the little guitar-playing hippie thing that lived in a tent, who was clearly interested in her. Both carefree. Both travelers. They were _made _for one another! If that woman left then the little hippie would never find true love. Poor little hippie.

Well, Nami _did _leave, much to my surprise. On the very day that Jack and Celia were married. The **very day, **I tell you. What a little antisocial drama queen. And at first I'm thinking to myself, "She'll be back. She's just screwing with everyone. She'll be back."

One year passes. At this point I am thinking to myself, "No, she's not coming back."

We, as in Griffin and I, attend a new years celebration at the sweet old lady's house. I even get the day off. Everyone is there- Jack and Celia, the firework making twins, the little homeless person that smells like rotting corpse- everyone. It is a wonderful celebration and I'm enjoying myself very much. Having a lovely time, not a care in the world. While Lumina is playing piano for all of us, I giggle and actually think to myself, "Oh, there has to be something that could ruin this day for me."

I hear Celia's voice next to me. "Having a nice time, Muffy?"

There it is.

I put on a big smile for the couple that has suddenly magically appeared beside me. The little farming couple. How adorable.

"I'm having an absolutely **wonderful **time, Celia."

_Or I was._

"How are you two? How's the farm?"

"Oh it's going wonderful, Muffy. Thank you for asking."

"Of course."

I had hoped the conversation would end there. But no. My torture had only just begun.

"So you heard, didn't you?"

_What? No, Jack and I don't speak anymore. He's to busy with his farm and his sweet little wife._

"Heard what, Celia?"

Celia blushes and smiles at Jack. "You didn't tell her?" she says sweetly.

_Tell me what?_

"I thought you would tell her, I'm sorry." her husband responds. "You two were such good friends I had assumed the two of you had talked about it."

_Oh that's a good one, Jack. Hilarious._

"What's going on, you two?" I ask with a sweet smile.

Celia blushes even deeper and leans in to whisper in my ear.

"_We're having a baby."_

My grip slips drastically and suddenly on my lemonade. I almost just drop it, let it fall to the ground and spill all over Romana's no-doubt-disgustingly-expensive carpet. But I don't. That would be embarrassing.

"Congratulations!"

So of course I'm the first to leave. I tell Griffin I'm going to do a little cleaning to open up tomorrow. And I even _smiled _while telling him so. God, I am a _fantastic _actress.

But that's beside the point. I walk slowly down the seemingly endless stairway down from Ramona's home to the walkway that leads into the central part of the valley, where the streets are empty due to everyone in the valley being at the party. I unlock the bar with my spare key, walk in, and grab one of the stools under the bar. I take said stool and place it behind the bar, sit on it, bury my face that I had worked SO hard to perfect with mascara and facial powder this morning into my crossed arms, and begin to cry like a five year old child who had just scraped her knee.

I'm upset, distressed, and not really thinking straight… I have every excuse to forget to lock the door back. So as I sit in my state of depression I hear the door open. I don't even look up.

"We're closed." I say firmly, or as firmly as one can say something while they're absolutely miserable, not in the mood to deal with anyone at the moment.

"What's your problem?" The voice is deep, female, and laced with curiosity rather than concern. I can't really put a face to the voice quickly, so I raise my face slightly so that my eyes are peeking over my arms.

Soft, thin, grey-ish blue eyes, wild red hair, pale skin, and an emotionless face. I almost curse out of shock. But I don't, because that, too, would have been embarrassing.

"What are _you _doing here?" I ask coldly. "I thought you left a year ago, never to return."

That last part is full of sarcasm, and I silently laugh at myself. Nami's facial expression stays stoic, obviously not finding me as humorous as I do.

"I thought I'd come visit for a while." She replies. "Have you been crying?"

I sigh and sit up straight, allowing her to see the streaks of tears down my cheeks, my red puffy eyes and the blurry eye make up. Not that that was the initial purpose of my change in posture, but it answered her question. "Did something happen?" she inquires calmly, now a bit of concern in her voice. But just a bit.

"I don't want to talk about it." is my reply, I flip some hair behind my back and look at her straight in the eyes. Though I look awful and the mascara that has streaked my face probably doesn't add a nice touch, I use fierce eyes and lower my face a little. This is **not **the time to be a defenseless, poor little woman.

"Well." she isn't what one would call "moved". "I'll take some Moon Trip, then."

My eyes widen. "What part of 'we're closed' do you not understand?" I ask rudely, just wishing the woman would leave me alone. "It's New Years. I have the day off."

"Then why are you here?" Nami inquires, now some anger added into that deep voice of hers.

I force myself to bounce back quickly. "I _live _here, thank you very much."

Nami doesn't budge. She just shrugs and rests her cheek on her hand. I'm pretty sure, no, **certain **she isn't going to just _leave. _So I use this as an opportunity to interrogate her, if you will, to some degree.

"So." I start, gently wiping my face with my hands. "What brought you back, Miss Wondering Traveler?"

"Hm." she grunted coldly. "I'll answer your question when you answer mine."

I rolled my eyes and groaned in compliance, reaching for a few bottles of alcohol for Nami's drink. Truth be told, I didn't have the slightest idea how to make a Moon Trip, or any of Griffin's specialties for that matter. So I put my faith solidly on memory and grabbed what I was _pretty sure _Griffin used to make the drink that Nami had requested.

When I put the bottles down in front of Nami her eyes didn't show any evidence of protest, so I continued with my original intention of just winging it. As I brought the mixing glasses over from the shelves, I began to tell her what it was she wanted to hear. "If it is absolutely necessary that you know," I started, "then I happen to be crying because of Jack."

Nami didn't show any signs of shock or caring. She just continued to have that nonchalant presence, watching me with those blue eyes of hers. She didn't care to interrupt, either, so I continued as I poured the first bottle in. I wasn't really paying attention to what I was doing or how much I was putting in, now that the thought of Jack and Celia was coming back to me. I felt my face get a bit red at the memory obtruding into my head.

_We're having a baby._

"Celia's pregnant." I said suddenly, my hands shaking a bit. I then put the bottle down, not even bothering to close it back and reached for the other one. "They told me at the party. That's why I… That's why I left."

I was pouring in the second drink when the sadness hit me again. Before I even had the chance to think about stopping them, tears began to run down my face for a second time. I was fully aware that I was being overdramatic, but damn it all, I loved him so much. It just wasn't fair.

Nami opened her mouth to say something, but she sighed instead and rose to her feet. "Here." she said calmly, pulling a tissue out of her pocket. "I cant stand seeing you cry like that." I took it from Nami's hand and softly wiped my eyes and cheeks. Maybe my wailing was starting to give her a headache or something, but the gesture was still thoughtful. I inhaled sharply and quickly, so my nose wouldn't drip. That's horribly unladylike. Even if I was in front of another girl.

"Thank you." I whispered, putting the tissue into my own pocket. I was horribly shook up, miserable even. I didn't dare look in any nearest mirror, because I no doubt looked awful. I was lucky to have Griffin away, or he would have probably killed someone. This was very out of character for someone like me.

"I'm really sorry that you're upset." Nami told me. I shook my head and went back to making her drink. But as I reached for the third and last bottle her hand gently touched mine, putting my actions to a halt. "Forget it." she ordered calmly. "I wasn't that thirsty anyway."

I was happy to oblige, so I shrugged and put everything aside. "If you say so, Honey." I sat on the stool in front of Nami and folded my arms on the Bar and slowly lowered my head to rest my chin on my forearms. "I don't know how to make the damn thing anyhow."

Nami blinked. "You were doing it right." she replied flatly, eyeing the drink that I had slid to the end of the bar. Surprised, I looked up a little. "Really?" I asked a bit excitedly.

Nami noticed my change in mood, and smiled weakly. She reached for the mixing glass that I had the drinks in and the other glass as well, and then slid over the last bottle that I didn't put in due to her stopping me. She just simply poured a bit in there and handed both glasses to me. "Now shake it up."

I looked at both glasses and nodded. "Right." I took them both, placing the empty one over the top of the other, and shook it a few times, and the finished product looked fantastic, if I do say so myself.

I slid the drink over to Nami with a big smile on my face. "Try it." I said, anxious to hear her reply to my concoction.

The redhead took a drink and smiled in approval. I felt happiness ping at my heart right then, more than thrilled that I finally gotten the drink right. "Griffin might just give me a raise now!" I said happily, only half kidding.

The rest of the day, the two of us just talked while Nami sipped on her Moon Trip. She explained her situation with leaving and then returning quite maturely, and gave reasonable excuses for both departing and her return. Excuses that, at that point in time, I weren't completely sure were true. She told me with the straightest face a woman could wear that she left partially because she had been there to long, partially because she felt she was overstaying her welcome at the Inn, and yes, partially because of Jack.

I nodded with each word, not daring to interrupt. I had never seen this woman talk so much, and one foul move could get her on her feet and out the door. Or maybe not. Nami was anything but predictable.

"I didn't know what to do after it got out that he and Celia were engaged." she confessed dryly, taking a small sip of her Moon Trip. "I experienced something I had never felt before, a feeling I knew was real but refused to believe it could happen to me." I sighed softly in agreement.

"It's not like he had ever kissed me, or confessed any feelings for me or anything." she crossed her arms, putting her now almost empty drink to the side. "It was a one-sided romance that he was totally oblivious too, it's not like he did anything wrong." she sighed deeply and looked me in the eyes. "Have I been talking to much?"

I shook my head sleepily. "I'm listening." Nami grinned and stood, at which point I almost freaked out, thinking she was leaving. But instead she went around the bar to my side and starting putting away bottles back on the shelf, and tossing the mixing cups into the sink. "But yeah. There's your answer."

She sat on the bar, her legs swinging a bit back and forth. She had a bit of a smile on her face and she kept staring down at me, which made me feel beyond uncomfortable. And I knew it was a big no-no in Griffin's book, but I sat on the counter as well, right next to Nami, so she would have to look straight at me instead of looking downward.

The redhead smiled and then giggled a little, and then the giggle kind of evolved in a hardy, quiet laugh. I looked at her as if she had finally lost it. My eyes wide. "Nami…?" I started slowly, a bit creeped out. "Sorry." the traveler said, calming down. "It's just… well, I have a confession."

I then began to get a bit worried. "Yes?" I asked seriously, giving her the best "watch yourself" look I could come up with.

Her smile never left her face as she turned her head to look at me, totally not phased by the look I was giving her. She giggled a little before saying it. "That drink you made me?"

I narrowed my eyes slightly. "Yeah?"

She sighed, that weird as hell smile still painted on her face. "It was disgusting." And that was it.

Relieved that it wasn't something worse, I rolled my eyes. "Yet you drank every drop." I retorted. My counterpart just shrugged. "You were overjoyed at finally getting it right. I didn't really have the heart to tell you that you had just put together the nastiest alcoholic beverage I had ever tasted.

I giggled a little. Had it been any other time, I would have just walked way prissily, not looking back. But I had such a hard day that I just didn't care. "Not have the heart to be honest about something, eh?" I said, looking at her. "That's a first."

"Well, I eventually told the truth."

"Were your original plans to just keep to yourself?"

She shook her head, "I **was **going to tell you. I cant just let you get by with something like that. Bleh."

"Bleh yourself."

Nami scoffed. "Mature."

My only response was sticking out my tongue childishly at the redhead.

She shook her head in sarcastic disapproval. "You're just like a little girl."

By the time the conversation had reached a close, Nami and I were a bit closer then I remembered us being when the conversation started. She looked into my eyes for a split second, before leaning in suddenly and quickly, her lips hungrily pressing against mine. I was too stunned to say or do anything, and well, a bit _flattered _to pull away. Though I certainly _did not _feel **that way **about Nami, there was nothing wrong with a little kiss… was there? Well at the time I was to occupied to mentally discuss the matter, and I would later regret that I didn't ask Nami why in the_ living hell _she did what she did. Instead I just enjoyed it while it lasted.

It was certainly a clean little kiss- no tongue, nothing dirty. We just pressed our lips to each others for a short while.

I watched as she broke the kiss, leaped off the bar, threw a few bucks on the counter and headed for the door, with that sickening grin on her face. "Thanks for the drink." she said with a smirk, and with that she was gone.

I didn't go after her, or anything foolish like that. I just squared my shoulders and leaped off the bar as well and checked the clock- Griffin would be home soon. I took the tissue that she had given me out of my pocket and threw in the trash. I turned around to clean up a bit when I realized that Nami had already done that much. The only thing left was the serving glass with her drink in it sitting alone at the place where she was sitting just moments before.

I took the cup she had and drank the last bit out of the bottom.

"Oh, that _is awful." _


End file.
